Compressed and densified product and the method of making the same



106,. COMPOSITONS,

CATING OR PLASTIC g 1 The invention comprises the herein described compressed and hardenedfcondition including (a a corporation or New York v This [invention relates f'to a compressed f-a'nd densified fibrous product and the rnethod fof making the same, and particularly to such is. product in which calcium 'silicate' binder "is formed in contact with the res oun ereby 5 and in the presence of a relat velysmallproportion' of water. Pe -55.; I =3; -It is an object of the invention to provide a strong yet non-brittle sheet or block containing a large proportion of'fibres and preserving in general the fibrous inttureQwhile being substantialiy impermeable -to air Another, object is to make a fibreboard that'is flreproof,-'relatively inexpensive, strong but lightweight durable when exposedito the action of weather or to soaking in water fora substantial periodof time, and" has relatively low thermal --conductivity Other objects and advantages will appear from the more detailed description that follows."v H

above the water.

novel features of the product and the method of remolite makineit and,11nore particularly, apsheet in Cross Reference 2,326,516 I. i a I also nENsrFmnf AND' T Mnrnon or ;in rins c 'rnn Jjassignorffto J ohns-Manvilie Corporation, New York N,

' TN'e Drawing. 'Application January 19,1940,

er SerialNo.314,692 a 4 Claims: ('Cl. 1 06120) reaction with -the lime'dur elevated temperature, but also makespossible the production of ali'ghtweight article suitable for iise'as -'a'ship' pariel 'o'r'a thermal insmanng wall board. It further permits-the use or the binder in such relatively small proportions with respect to the'weight'of the'fibresas'tci preserve non-brittleness and appreciable flexibility in' the finished article. 'Z' I a "For the fibrous cdmponent I have used toad vantage 'amphibole asbestos fibres which include amesitem'idm actinolite and i fiBres. It

reenter? Examine 5 'thus 'caused 'a" substan' 'allyiomplet; reaction between the lime and the finely' divided silica. Finally; the product isdried at a'temperature boiling point wr te remove free Particularly desirable result's Q tained when the finelydivided silica'is diatoms.-

I ll .ne' aquick irig the heating T814311 is desirable that-the 5b comp'onents 'u'se'd I the manufacture of the product of my invention have a water otcrystal;

large proportion of fibijes'ffifid a bindii t'hereior, lization or com osition not in excess of 5% since Qsaid binderinc'hidi gihe' the tfiermalcon ductlvi'ty of the Hfi sEed products forminganQaqueous mixture "with the selected formed an a ueous mixture of the selecte bres, hydrated lime andfinely divided silica suchas diatorgaceous earth shaping andstronglycome pressing the m1 urefiigafiist a filtering member x 'reeet'i'engfadfic or a me of drated lime an v gilicg of very ow. ensity. e van on comj prises such a sheet in which the fibres include La substantial proportion, of. m hibole asbestos fibres. The invention comprises also the method of making such a product in which, therejjis I "vethemajor portion of'fiiWtenPres cut and then autgcla ving the shaped and com pressed mater "aftfa rfelevated temperature'to cause practically compl ejt a rgc ofthe-lime v ith the ii .ca,..t1i'inca being used preferably infamount in slight excess of the: 'stoichiometr'ic proportions. s, i., j In making the articles of the present 'inven'e tion, there is used a method whichQcOmprise's fibres, p ummetunn divided silica, s5 apm' g and strongly compressing jthejjmixture, to Ierpel thereirom a'large portion ,of the1waj ter present and form adensified mixture, and then subjecting the shapedfand compressed material to an elevated temperature while minimizingthe' evaporation of water; "This na step is preferably accomplished by placing the shaped productin'an autoclave in the-"presence ofsteam a increases very rapidly if th e'fibies paves. water of crystallization'in excess oithe quantit mdi cate'd. Products constituted largely h or amosite fibres; which have a water oi 'crystallizatidnot. about 4.7%','ha ve been'folind' waiver/cran fsirable results i "the finished "prddpet end-are, therefore, preferred. The feature (if low thermal conductivity is a very desirable feature irfrny v finished product and should not exceed 1 (measpred'iri Bit. 3.113s, 'inches per hour per 'square bot 'per F.) o'n 'a product having aderisity in' the order (Sf-4Q lbs. per cu. itfwhen'measured at a meantemperatur'e of 100'? F. fArno'site fi havea' waterfof crystallization" of t "40 ena'wnen'made intc'asheet', accordingf'td the method herein described, the resultingprodu'ct has 'a' thermal conductivity of less than 1. It' is, therefore, recommended *thittfaniosite fibres'fiie used either entirely 'or' in large proportions in the preparation of the productof my invention-' 'The amo'site' fibre cc'ntent may" be modified 'tof eeme degree' by 'rplacing small p'roportion's"- oi'the amosite fibres with ch'ry'sotile fibres in with wood "it is, however, es1rab1e' that the than those products containing only amosite fibres, and therefore, it is preferred that only amosite fibres or a substantial proportion thereof should be used. In any event, at least 50% of the fibrous content in the finished article should be amphibole fibres, ,J "I; T; "is, In order to obtain the desired properties in the finished bonded fibrous product I have used to advantage a large proportion of fibres at least equal approximately to the weight oi -the lime l0 and silica used. For instance, I have used 150 l i mate association ofthe resulting silicate hydrated parts by weight of amosite fibres to 100 parts by with the fibresmakes possible additional hardenweight of the finished Ended article in dried coning of the binder by drying. dition. Also, I have used fibrous components in 1 The reaction described is efiected quite satis- 2,s2e,5ie g3. 9 cate. Inasmuch as the lime and the silica are originally present in approximate stoichiometric proportions, the lime and the silica will be substantially completely reacted. It is preferable, however, that the silica be present in slight excessin order that all the lime will-be substantially completely reacted. The occurrence of this reaction in the presence of water results in the combination of some of the water with the fibres,

presumably as water of hydration, and the intithe proportion of 35 to 60 parts by weight to Q0 Fiji factorilyjn-anjmgm heated by live steamak parts of the finished dried article. fsuperatmosphericrifeasf'fdfexamp t a The method of manufacture is illustrated in:- H 0150;; per square inch.

o In; the autoclaving step I allow the steam to enter slowly from an inlet so that the pressure is not built up suddenly to the maximum desired. Thus, I have raised'the pressure on the gauge from 0 to 150# at the; rate of about #;per hour to minimize splitting or swelling of the sheet during the steam curing operation.

The steam cured product is then subjected to thorough dmng, preferably at a temperature well greater detail by the following more specificex mp e:

There is formed a mixture including 50%01 :amosite fibres 25% h 'me and 25% of 'commin' uted diatomaceous ear and water in the r j amount to permit Hie suspension of We ingredients in a fluid composition. -The quantity of water is about 1500% of the total weight of the solid ingredients inthe mixture. 1

Y m; mixture is t agitated t for s1 r above the boiling point of water to cause the re- ..th slurry i charged to th b d of a, press Having moval of substantially all free water from any a filtering body such asa firmly supported wire calcium silicate that may em n ge atinousor screen anchored to adrain so that the slurry other; f rm in m t i dwi h aIarEeeX- cess or water as distinguished from water of hystantially uniform thickness over all parts theredration that is expelled only at- -v ry highmof. The amount of slurry used is selected to give p 1 a e ed t P oduct at a the desired final thickness of ithe compressed temperature of about 250 F. for about 4.8 hours. -sheet which is: approximately .5 to 1.5 inches. 2- A er the pro t ,m y .be shaped to the Strong compression is then applied as by bring- BXaC size desired. One face of ,the sheets as ing down the ram of a hydraulic press upon the madein the press is generally a practically plane mixture-on the filtering .bed.v ,The pressuri on g riaca v t the ram may be varied within limits from a ut A sheet so made has beenfound to weigh n- 200 Q 13Q0 lbs per sguarg incl althoughl have l matfily the cu. foot, has .aspecific ound that a pressure in the order of 500 lbs gives thermal conductiv y measured in B. t'.' u.s, a very desirable product from the standpoint of inches D u f DB Squaw foot p r of o y properbalance between, strength ,andjightness ut fiows over the screen and forms'a layer or subto befireproof, flexible toan appreciable extent, strong (having a modulus of rupiture in the order of about.1800 lbs/sq. in.) and impermeable to air to such degree. that the board is adapted .l'or use a's' structural panels, as, for example, i'or wallsof buildingaor bulk headsoi' DS. v ,z I f 7 h g It has been mime that products .in' which amfphibole fibres are used entirely or in the propertions indicated above, the products which are compressed so that the density of the finished product is the limits of to .45 pounds per cu, ft., themodulus of rupture exceeds 1500 pounds per square inch, van the thermal conductivity is less than l'when measured at mean temperatures of.1.00 .F; In using the term funean temperature, Ire'fer to the temperature at a point halfway between the opposite wall's 'o'r faces of the product." ",T} During the autoclaving' step'describedabove, I confinethesheets in such a manner as" to cause welding together fiat fpositions' wherejperfnanent cracking would otherwisedevelop as steam escapes from theshee't's, In this manner the development or cracks and attendant weakening of the structureare. thus'the sheets being steam curd 'niay be stacked one upon another impermeable material as ,for example, two or .-oithematerial...-- 5. if... 1 ,During the strong, ycompression described, a large proportion of the waterin the slurry is forced therefrom andv the mixture is compressed to form a densified and thoroughly consolidated mass including a very small proportion of water in comparison with the amount originally present. Thus the compressed product ordinarily contains .about 40 to '70 parts of water to lllOparts of solid p s n The ime andth silicawhich will be described in the I ep occfir"? there- .fore in the presence of asmall proportion of .water and a bond of strong alcium '1 ate is formed even though the proportion of the calcium silicate is relatively low in comparison to the proportion of such bond in articles of somewhat similar quantitative conposition made heretofore; It has been found hat when the materials are compressed under about 0# pressure the densities of the finished products vary between 35 to 45# perlcu. ft. The finished products which weigh about 40# per. 011.. it. give very .desirable results inthat they possess low heat connuctivity and a highmodulus of. rupture ',j- The shaped and compressed material is a re:-

moved from the press in any suitable mannercnd with subjected to anelevate temperature to. cause sheet-so; asbestcs-cementboard. Df inCh substantially" comp e H the-lime ,th c nesaea blai ov the, p ofthestack. {at and the sllica'fflia hhe of the-reactive bottom, thestaql; may rest upon -;the steel ingredients which is not present in excess to; be floor ofv a conventionalhandtruch, Obviqusiy, if combined practically and. entirely as calciumsiiithestackis yery tali intermediate-spacingmemlUU- \JUWIFUOI I IUHO,

comma R PLAsuc bers may be used to permit access of the heating medium, such as the steam, to the interior or the stack.

As another means of minimizing cracking,there 5 may be used a small proportion of a skeletonizing agent admixed into the composition 0! the sheets and allowed to set or harden before the sheets are subject to autoclaving. For this purpose there may be used a small proportion of at least hali of the dryweight oi the article and at least 50% ofthe fibers being amosite fibers, and said article having a dry density below 45 lbs. per cubic foot and a thermal conductivity of less than 1 when measured at a mean temperature of 2. An article 'of manufacture consisting of a heat insulating sheet having a high modulus of rupture and comprising amosite fibers and a binder, the binder including the product of the hydraulic cement as, for example, to"'20 of 10 substantially complete reaction under the influ- Portland cement or a calcium aluminate cement ence of steam of an aqueous mixture of hydrated based on the weight of the finished article. The lime and finely divided diatomaceous earth, said cement is thoroughly mixed with the other raw si efibres n t tin t le 0f the materials, the composition then formed into dry weight of the article, and said article having sheets as described, with cement in the sheet 111- a dry density'of less than 45 lbs. per cubic foot, lowed to set substantially fully, or to a large and a thermal conductivity of less than 1 when extent, then the sheet autoclaved in the manner measured at a mean temperature of 100 F. described. I 3. article of manufacture consisting of a For some purposes, an oxide of any of the other heat insulating sheet having a high modulus of alkaline earths may be substituted for the lime." rupture and comprising -60 parts by weight When such oxide is so slightly soluble as not to of asbestos fibers and -65 parts of a hinder, the react sufilciently rapidly with the silica then binder including the product of the substantially there may be used a promoter to accelerate the complete reaction under the influence of steam reaction. Thus, finely divided magnesia may be of an aqueous mixture of hydrated lime and finely substituted in equi-molecular proportion for the 25 divided diatomaceous earth, said fibrous portion lime with the addition to the magnesia of about including at least amosite fibres, and said 1 mol oi! sodium carbonate for each 10 mols or article having a dry dens y of 3 lbs. p r ubic magnesia. U 1 foot and a thermal conductivity of less than 1 This application is a continuation in part of when measured at a mean temperature of 100 F. my copending application, Serial No; 91,268 filed 30 4. A felted light-weight heat insulating ma- July 18, 1936, issued as Patent No. 2,247,355. terial which comprises amosite asbestos fibers It will be understood that the details given are and a binder bonding the fibres into a sheet, the for the purpose of illustration not restriction, and binder including the product of the substantially that variations within the spirit of the invention complete reaction under the influence of steam are intended to be included in the scope of the 3 of an aqueous mixture of Substantially StOiChiO- appended claims. 1 metric proportions of hydrated lime and finely I claim: 7 divided silica, the amosite fibres having a water 1. An article of manufacture consisting of a of crystalization oi less than 5 per cent, and conheat insulating sheet having a high modulus of stituting 35% of the dry W i f the finrupture and comprising asbestos fibers and a 40 ished material, said material having a density binder, the binder including the product of a subin the order of 40 pounds per cubic foot, a'modu- 'stantially complete reaction under the influence lus oi rupture of at least 1500 lbs. per square inch I of steam of an aqueous mixture of hydrated lime and a thermal conductivity of less than 1 when and finely divided silica, the fibres constituting measured at a meantemperature of F.

4 GEORGERBROWN 

